Dropbox vs Filen
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dropbox
Securely store, sync, and share your files and photos across all your devices. Easily upload, access, and send documents, videos, and more from anywhere, even offline. Offers robust backup and recovery features for peace of mind.
- Automatic photo and video upload
- Offline file access
- Large file sharing via links
- Document scanning to PDF
- Version history and file recovery
- Cross-device synchronization
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Dropbox lets you upload, save, and transfer photos and files to the cloud. Backup and sync your pictures, videos, documents, and other files to cloud storage and access them from any device, anywhere. With advanced sharing features, it’s easy to share and send photos or files to family, friends, and co-workers. Features: • Automatically upload videos and photos from your camera roll to cloud photo storage - all in the background - for easy video sharing and photo sharing. • Access any file in your account - even offline - and preview over 175 different file types with no special software required. • Easily send large files by copying and pasting a link you can give to anyone, even if they don’t have a Dropbox account. • Scan documents, receipts, IDs, photos, and more using your mobile device and transform them into high-quality PDFs, so you can view and send anywhere. • Sync folders on your PC or Mac to Dropbox with computer backup, and recover older versions or restore deleted files with version history and file recovery. Sign up now for your free Dropbox Plus trial. You’ll get 2 TB (2,000 GB) of storage space - that’s enough room to save files from all your linked devices. And with Dropbox Rewind, you can roll back any file, folder, or your entire account, up to 30 days. Before starting a trial or completing payment, you’ll see the plan price. This amount will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase and on renewal and will vary by plan and country. Dropbox subscriptions renew monthly or yearly, depending on your plan. Your account will be charged for renewal 24 hours before the end of your current billing period. To avoid auto-renewal, turn it off within at least 24 hours before your subscription renews. You can turn off auto-renewal anytime from your Apple ID account settings. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. Dropbox is a secure cloud solutions leader trusted by Fortune 500 companies for their most sensitive data. Over 14 million paid users choose Dropbox because they know they can count on a company that’s also dedicated to their security and privacy—no matter what they do or where they are. Let Dropbox be your all-in-one file storage, file organizer, file transfer, and file sharing solution for all your devices. We’d love to hear from you! Join the Dropbox community: https://www.dropboxforum.com Terms of Service: https://www.dropbox.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.dropbox.com/privacy
Filen
Securely store photos, videos, and documents with military-grade encryption. Access files on any device, share them easily, and enjoy features like offline access and encrypted notes. Offers a free tier with 10 GB storage.
- 10 GB free storage
- Unlimited pro storage
- Secure client-side encryption
- Offline file access
- Cross-device file access
- Encrypted notes and chats
- Automatic camera upload
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Filen is everything you need for storing your photos, videos and documents secure and encrypted in the cloud. Get 10 GB storage for free when you create an account. Features: - Get 10 GB when you create an account - Get unlimited storage with our pro offerings - Easily share files with family, friends and colleagues, even if they are not Filen users - Military grade client sided AES 256 bit encryption, your files truly belong to you - only you - Make files available offline for easy access wherever, whenever - Stream and preview your photos, documents, images and audio files straight from the cloud - Access your files on every device - Encrypted notes - Encrypted chats - Clean, easy to use interface for easy file management - Dark mode available for those who work at night or just love the darker look! - Automatic camera upload - Share target - Files app integration Terms of service: https://filen.io/terms Privacy policy: https://filen.io/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Dropbox at 4.8 against Filen's 3.8. Dropbox also leads on ratings volume (900K vs 123) and chart position (#5 vs unranked). Filen's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Dropbox sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Filen asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dropbox holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dropbox has 900K ratings behind it against 123, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 48% and 48% positive.
Dropbox ships an update every 2 weeks, Filen fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dropbox | Filen |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (900K ratings) — better | 3.8 (123 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 47.6% of reviews | 47.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 900K — better | 123 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #5 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 228 MB | 103 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Dropbox, Inc. | Filen Cloud Dienste UG (haftungsbeschraenkt) |
Customer experience
Dropbox
Filen
User reviews
Dropbox
From 900K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Reliable cloud storage
- 🔒 Secure file sharing
- 📁 Convenient file management
- 💻 Cross-device accessibility
- 📸 Automatic photo backups
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy app updates
- 🔍 Confusing file navigation
- ⚠️ Unreliable upload/sync
- 💰 Expensive paid plans
- 🔋 High battery drain
Filen
From 123 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🔒 End-to-end encryption and privacy-focused design
- 💰 Affordable pricing with generous storage tiers
- 🌍 Open-source and transparent service
- 🚀 Fast upload/download speeds
- 👍 Clean and intuitive UI design
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes during uploads
- 📸 Photo/video upload failures and inconsistencies
- 🔄 Auto-upload feature unreliable and incomplete
- ⚠️ Data loss issues in Notes feature
- 🔐 Thumbnail cache exposed in Files app (security concern)
Bugs and requests
Dropbox
Reported bugs
5 issues- Freezing on login screen
- Duplicate file uploads
- Incorrect file timestamps
- Incompatibility with iOS updates
- Disappearing recent files
Requested features
5 requests- Select all option for uploads
- Background upload support
- Integrated media player
- Increased free storage
- Flexible paid plan options
Filen
Reported bugs
18 issues- App crashes when uploading photos/videos
- Music pauses when app is minimized
- Photo upload stuck at specific file counts (e.g., 42 photos)
- Notes lose data during sync
- Note type conversion deletes text content
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- Video thumbnails not displaying correctly
- Cannot open audio files in app
- App stuck on opening screen
- Login credentials not working on iOS despite working elsewhere
- Upload progress not visible in latest update
- File upload stalls at 'finishing' stage
- Camera upload fails with VPN enabled
- Rich text editor loses data on sync
- Share public link toggle does nothing
- Media not found error when uploading images
- App unable to load albums page
- Password reset link not sending
- Automatic account deletion after inactivity
Requested features
12 requests- Video streaming/playback within app
- Read-only file mode option
- Back-sync feature (delete from phone, delete from cloud)
- Multi-select file upload capability
- iPad split-screen view support
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- Shared folder system like Dropbox/Google Drive
- Album-to-folder mapping for camera uploads
- iOS Files app integration/mounting
- Audio file playback within app
- Dark mode following system settings
- Magnetic link download support
- Better gallery navigation and filtering
In-app purchases
Dropbox
- Dropbox Simple - Monthly1 Month trial$6.991 Month
- Dropbox Plus - Monthly$11.991 Month
- Dropbox Plus - Monthly1 Month trial$11.991 Month
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- Dropbox Plus - Monthly14 Days trial$11.991 Month
- Dropbox Professional - Monthly$19.991 Month
- Dropbox Professional - Monthly1 Month trial$19.991 Month
- Dropbox Family - Monthly1 Month trial$19.991 Month
- Dropbox Plus - Annual2 variants$119.991 Year
- Dropbox Plus - Annual1 Month trial$119.991 Year
Filen
No in-app purchases









